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GHS’s 2010 Georgia Days Features Two of America’s Favorite Pastimes: Baseball and Classic Cinema

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Savannah, GA – December 21, 2009.  The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) announced today the schedule of events for Georgia Days 2010, to be held February 2-13 in commemoration of the 277th anniversary of the founding of the Georgia colony.  Thousands of parents, students, educators, and government officials participate in the Society’s annual statewide event.
 
Each year during the Georgia Days series of events, GHS honors individuals who have significantly influenced Georgia and American history.  Taking a page from modern history and popular culture, the Society has named Georgia native and American baseball legend Jackie Robinson as Historic Honoree of the 2010 celebration.  

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31, 1919, to tenant farmers living near Cairo, Georgia (Grady County).  Jackie Robinson not only earned acclaim through athletic accomplishments, but he also became a cultural icon responsible for breaking down color barriers in America’s favorite pastime.  Beyond his .342 batting average (1949) and numerous accolades earned throughout his baseball career, Robinson was a savvy businessman and active in the civil rights movement.  He was a vocal supporter of Martin Luther King, Jr., and he traveled extensively to raise support for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  At King’s request, Robinson went to Albany, Georgia, to speak after two black churches were burned there in August 1962 and he headed a national campaign to raise money to rebuild the Albany churches and a burned church in Lee County, Georgia.  Robinson is clearly a national figure whose story was shaped beyond his modest Georgia roots, yet he remains a local hero in the hearts of many Georgians.

In addition to traditional events that include the Colonial Faire and Muster at Wormsloe, Super Museum Sunday, and the Georgia Day Parade featuring school children, costumed characters and dignitaries parading through Savannah’s historic district, Georgia Days 2010 will feature the Birthday Bash and Awards Gala, entitled “As Time Goes By.”

“Last year’s ‘Magic in the Moonlight’ was a night to remember,” says Laura García-Culler, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Society, “and ‘As Time Goes By’ will provide our members and friends with an equally memorable, and very romantic night to start their Valentine’s weekend.

“In addition to an evening of cocktails, dinner, and dancing, baseball legend Hank Aaron and Ted Turner, CNN Founder and Chairman, Turner Enterprises, Inc. will participate in a conversation moderated by GHS staff. It promises to be a lively and engaging discussion with two of the most prominent Georgians in post-WWII America.  The evening will also include Governor Sonny Perdue inducting both Aaron and Turner as the 2010 Georgia Trustees. This induction is the continuation of an exciting partnership between the GHS and the State of Georgia that annually recognizes in perpetuity selected Georgians who have made outstanding contributions to our state’s history.”

Below is a complete list of Georgia Days 2010 events commemorating the founding of the Georgia colony.  Note that some times and locations may change or are yet to be determined.  Check www.georgiahistory.com for the latest information.


Georgia Days Kickoff Event
Featuring an evening with National Public Radio’s Scott Simon,
author of Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball
Tuesday, February 2, 2010, 6:00 P.M.
Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum Annex – 460 Martin Luther King Blvd, Savannah
Sponsored by:  BG Group
With Additional Support for the Lecture from:  The City of Savannah
In this family friendly public event, award-winning journalist and author Scott Simon (National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition) will discuss his critically acclaimed book, Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball.  The program will highlight the legacy of Jackie Robinson, baseball legend, civil rights pioneer, Georgia native, and 2010 Georgia Days Honoree.  Highlighting the challenges and ultimate triumph of Robinson’s 1947 Major League debut, this program will set the stage for the entire series of Georgia Days events designed to educate students of all ages about the life and unique contributions of one of America’s true heroes.  Free and open to the public.
 
 
Georgia Days Colonial Faire and Muster
Saturday (Family Day) and Sunday, February 6-7, 2010, 10:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Wormsloe State Historic Site, Savannah
Sponsored by:  Gulfstream
With Additional Support from:  The Society of Colonial Wars
Take your family back in time to the site of one of the earliest and most beautiful colonial-era plantations of the Georgia coast.  This popular annual living-history event features costumed re-enactors and vendors offering students and adults a taste of the excitement and adversity of life for the first settlers of colonial Georgia.  Highlights of this weekend-long event include cannon and musket firing; blacksmithing, craft, and cooking demonstrations; Native American and slave life interpretations; and period music and dance.  An hourly schedule of events will be available upon arrival at Wormsloe.  Free and open to the public.
   
 
Georgia Days Super Museum Sunday
Sunday, February 7, 2010, 12:00 – 4:00 P.M.
Multiple Savannah-area sites
(visit www.georgiahistory.com after January 1, 2010 for museum list, or contact individual sites of interest)
Sponsored by: Georgia Power and Savannah Morning News
Georgians and visitors alike experience our area’s rich history and cultural life as historic sites, house museums, art museums, and other points of interest in Savannah and coastal Georgia open their doors to the public, providing an exceptional opportunity to experience the history in our own backyard.  From Statesboro to Darien, over 40 cultural institutions throughout coastal Georgia participate in this popular GHS’s Georgia Days annual family event.
 
 
Georgia Day Parade
Friday, February 12, 2010, 10:30 A.M.
Bull Street from Forsyth Park to City Hall, Savannah
Sponsored by:  AT&T
Thousands of costumed local elementary school children march behind their hand-made banners in commemoration of Georgia’s founding in 1733.  A colorful parade of students, musicians, local dignitaries, and costumed characters is preceded by a military color guard and marching band. Beginning at Forsyth Park and continuing around all five squares of Bull Street, the procession culminates with a program in front of City Hall, where the mayor and other officials bring greetings and present awards for the annual Banner Competition.
   

Georgia Days Birthday Bash & Awards Gala, “As Time Goes By”
Saturday, February 13, 2010, 7:00 P.M.
Hyatt Regency, Savannah
Raffle Sponsored by:  Wells Fargo Insurance Services, Inc.
The Georgia Historical Society presents an evening of cocktails, dinner, lively discussion, and dancing at its premiere annual fund-raising event, the 2010 Birthday Bash and Awards Gala. This year’s event, "As Time Goes By," will incorporate elements inspired by the landmark film Casablanca and will be the lavish culmination of the two-week commemoration of Georgia history and celebration of the life and legacy of Georgia Days Honoree and native of Cairo, Georgia, Jackie Robinson.

The 2010 Birthday Bash promises to draw an audience of business and civic leaders from across the state of Georgia. Governor Sonny Perdue will induct the 2010 Georgia Trustees, baseball legend Hank Aaron and Ted Turner, CNN Founder and Chairman, Turner Enterprises, Inc., followed by an insightful and entertaining discussion with the new inductees. In keeping with the evening’s theme, and in honor of great American pastimes explored throughout the 2010 Georgia Days commemoration and honoree Jackie Robinson, GHS will hold a raffle for classic cinema and baseball memorabilia. Dancing to a live band will round out the evening. Reservations are required.

The Georgia Trustees
In conjunction with the Governor’s Office, the Georgia Historical Society reconstituted the Georgia Trustees as a way of recognizing Georgians whose accomplishments and community service reflect the highest ideals of the founding body of Trustees.  The original Georgia Trustees, a governing body chartered and appointed by His Majesty King George II of England in 1732 to establish a new colony in North America, founded the Georgia colony upon the principle of Non Sibi, Sed Aliis, “Not for Self but for Others.” They established and governed the colony with this vision until their disbandment in 1752 after which Georgia became a royal colony. Reestablished in 2009, the Governor will make an annual appointment of new Trustees whose history-making accomplishments and service reflect the original Trustees’ ideals.


Fort Frederica Living History Festival
Saturday, February 20, 2010, 9:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Fort Frederica National Monument, 6515 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island
This annual event commemorates the founding of Frederica in 1736.  Activities throughout the day will immerse visitors in the history of Frederica and the struggle for empire between Great Britain and Spain in the 18th Century.  Programs include tabby making, hands-on musket drills, colonial children’s games, journal making, and archeology programs.  This event is organized by Fort Frederica National Monument.  For more information, please contact the Fort Frederica Visitor’s Center at 912.638.3639. Free and open to the public.


Scottish Highland Dinner
Saturday, February 20, 2010, 7:00 P.M.
Fort King George State Historic Site, Fort King George Drive, Darien
This annual event features a Scottish dinner, hosted by Oglethorpe himself, at the Fort King George barracks.  This event is organized by Fort King George and the Lower Altamaha Historical Society.  For more information, please call 912.437.4770.  Reservations required; a fee will be charged for dinner.

Georgia Days 2010 Corporate Sponsors

Georgia Days Signature Sponsor:

 

Georgia Days Presenting Sponsor:

 

 

Georgia Days Signature Media Sponsor:

 

Platinum Sponsors  

          

   

Gold Sponsors  

       

 

   

Silver 

Georgia Ports Authority
Lummus Corporation
Publix Super Markets Charities, Inc.
Queensborough National Bank &Trust
Shell Oil
Sterne, Agee, & Leach